


The Checkout Line

by elephant_bubbles



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Babyfic, Fluff, Gen, Modern AU, friendly stranger Kaito, single mom Maki
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-14 15:34:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29048481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elephant_bubbles/pseuds/elephant_bubbles
Summary: Maki hadn’t been expecting to meet someone while in line at the supermarket checkout, but the man who had made her baby laugh had also stolen her heart.
Kudos: 9





	The Checkout Line

**Author's Note:**

> I found a cute prompt and went for it (‘You crouched down to talk to my baby in the checkout line and oh you’re kind of cute’). Hope you like it!

* * *

Maki sighed as she set the baby seat down at her feet, before starting to unload things from her basket onto the store’s motorized checkout counter. As she arranged her items, she noticed that the person in front of her had a ton of items, so she figured it would take a while. At her feet, her son began whining, realizing he was on the floor, where his view of the whole wide store was cut off and he was stuck looking at his mother’s legs and shoes. 

“I know, just a minute,” Maki said at the baby’s protest, but the baby didn’t want to wait. He let out a whimper, threatening to cry if he wasn’t picked back up so he could continue looking around in the next few seconds. Maki fought back the stress rising within her at her son’s protests as she continued unloading her shopping basket. She knew she had to keep things moving, sensing more people had gotten in line behind her and would probably not appreciate being held up over her son’s need for attention. 

The man in the purple coat standing directly behind Maki looked down to see where the small noises of protest were coming from, and caught sight of the small, dark haired baby in the baby seat on the floor. He immediately grinned at the baby.

“Hey, little guy, what’s up?” 

The baby stopped whimpering and looked up to the man with his mouth open, cocking his head a bit before decidedly changing his mind about crying and instead breaking out into a huge smile. He reached his little hands up to the man with a coo, and the man in purple chuckled. 

“Aw, that’s a nice big smile!” 

Maki had heard the commotion and turned around, having just finished unloading her items onto the checkout line. 

“Well, that’s one less thing to worry about,” she said, looking at the man smiling at her child. “Thanks.”

“No problem,” the guy said, before bending down to get closer to the baby. “I think he likes me.”

A quick flash of worry came over Maki at a stranger bending over to see her baby, but it quickly disappeared when her son began laughing at the man instead of crying like she’d been expecting him to. 

“Of course, everyone seems to like Kaito Momota, Luminary of the Stars!” 

Now at the same level as the baby, the man apparently named Kaito reached a hand out to the baby, who took Kaito’s fingers and gripped them tightly. Maki watched the scene with a whirlwind of emotions, from slight fear to...affection? at how this man had so quickly bonded with her son (and stopped him from being upset). 

“Wow, that’s quite the grip you’ve got there, little buddy,” Kaito continued with a chuckle, gently trying to pull his fingers out of the baby’s grasp. It took him a moment to get free, and when he did he stood back up, looking at Maki. 

“Cute little guy you’ve got there,” he said, and Maki nodded, her heart fluttering in her chest. 

“Thanks. He’s not usually that good with strangers,” Maki blurted, but the man’s smile didn’t seem to falter at all. 

“Aw, well I’m a friendly stranger,” Kaito said, before nodding to something behind Maki. “Hey, the line’s moving.”

Maki quickly turned around and moved herself up the line a bit, Kaito taking a step closer himself. Kaito leaned over and picked up the baby seat as he moved up in line (the baby laughed at the motion of being lifted), setting it on the checkout belt behind the last few of Maki’s items. Maki watched, the odd fear that the stranger might instead turn the other way and run off with her child being squished by her appreciation of him doing the act. 

“Oh thanks, that seat is getting harder to lift since he’s getting bigger,” Maki said, before reaching for one of the plastic checkout dividers. Kaito was also reaching for a divider, and their fingers touched briefly on one of them before Maki blushed and took it, placing it in front of the baby’s seat, allowing Kaito to start putting his items up. 

“I’ll bet,” he said, beginning to unload his own basket. The baby watched from his seat as the items from Kaito’s basket were set down. He whimpered and reached his hands for the items as Kaito placed a variety of colorful cans and boxes down, just out of his reach. 

“Sorry, guy, you can’t have any of this stuff. I bet your mom got you some things you can have, though,” Kaito said to the baby, setting the last of the things down. He leaned down to place his now empty basket in the small stack that had collected next to the register before standing again, laughing at the baby still reaching for his items. 

“Hey, come on, little...”

“Kaito,” Maki said.

“Yeah?” Kaito asked, looking at Maki.

Maki’s face flushed, as the man’s eyes met hers. “That’s, uh, his name. Kaito.” 

Her heart fluttered in her chest as she saw her words settle in, getting an excited nod from the adult Kaito. 

“Oh, wow, I’ve never met another Kaito before!” 

He reached his hand to the baby again, who grabbed his fingers in his tight grasp once more, settling for them instead of the colorful boxes and cans. “It’s nice to meet you, little Kaito.” 

He turned to Maki, his fingers still in the grasp of the baby. “And it’s nice to meet you...”

“Maki.” 

Kaito said her name aloud, nodding to himself. “That’s a pretty name.” 

Before Maki could reply, a voice behind her called ‘Next!’. She had almost forgotten where she was, too distracted by the man. She turned and faced the checkout cashier, who had already started scanning her items. Her mind reeled as she watched her items get scanned; she almost hadn’t felt the little tap on her shoulder from the man behind her. 

“Uh, hey, Maki,” Kaito began when Maki had turned her attention back to him, scratching at the back of his head with one hand. “If you’re not...I mean, would you maybe want to...”

“Are you assuming I’m single?” Maki asked. Kaito put his hands up, beginning to stutter out an apology, but she shook her head. 

“I’d like that, Kaito,” she said quietly. 

He put his hands down and smiled. 

* * *

The supermarket trip had completely worn baby Kaito out, but it worked out for the adults so they could talk while they sipped their drinks at the next door coffee shop. 

“So, uh, you’re not seeing anyone?” Kaito asked. Maki took a sip of her drink and shook her head, setting her drink back down.

“I was. But he...left when I told him about the baby,” Maki said, nodding down to the baby seat, where little Kaito was still sleeping peacefully. “Our relationship was complicated and the baby was kind of a surprise. I guess he wasn’t ready.” 

“Aw, I’m sorry,” Kaito replied. Maki shrugged.

“It was a bad situation, and even though I wasn’t ready either, it’s better this way. Being single with the baby, I mean.” 

Kaito nodded, taking another sip of his drink. “That’s good, at least.”

“What about you?” 

“I’ve been flying solo for a while,” Kaito replied. “I wasn’t expecting to meet anyone, especially not in the checkout line at my local grocery store.” 

“It’s not usually the setting for those cheesy romance novels, that’s for sure,” Maki quipped, taking another sip of her drink. 

Kaito laughed. “I wouldn’t have pinned you as one of those girls who read those.”

Maki shot him a look. “I don’t, believe me.”

Kaito nodded. “Didn’t think you did. So, what do you do for fun?” 

Maki shrugged. “I don’t really do fun.” 

Kaito nodded again. “Well, maybe I could show you some fun? We could go out, or something.” 

“You’re asking me out after you’ve known me for an hour?” 

“We’re already having coffee, so I thought I might give going out a shot,” Kaito said with a shrug and a goofy smile.

Maki thought about it for only a moment before nodding, making Kaito’s grin wider. Though her heart was still hurting from everything she’d gone through with being a single mom in the last year, she knew it was time to move on, and this man seemed like the perfect candidate. 

Maki hadn’t been expecting to meet someone while in line at the supermarket checkout, but the man who had made her baby laugh had also stolen her heart. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
